by Chris Burton
He entered the bridge and took a seat at his station.
“Comm Status?”
“We are just entering range for the comm’s booster and we are sending repeated relay messages to all the Alpha vessels within short range,” advised the Communications officer.
“Good, carry on.”
“Number One. How is General Yoshi this morning?”
“Almost upon us. The good news is that we have partial shielding,” came the reply from his First Officer.
“Excellent.”
“She is within range, sir. We can deploy blaster cannons on your command. Shall I make us weapons ready?”
“Hold off for one moment Number One. I want to see them before we fire.”
“Three Alpha vessels have responded and on route. ETA twenty minutes sir” said the Comm Officer.
“Excellent, Mr. Peterson. We wait.”
* * * *
The Earth ship was within weapons range, but Yoshi was not ready to attack yet.
He was aware they knew where his ship was. They could not see his vessel—not with the naked eye, but their heat filters could trace the outline of his ship thermically. Surprise was therefore no longer a tactical advantage.
Other Alpha vessels were also on route to intercept. This was a positive step from Yoshi’s perspective as the wider the audience the better. He wanted Alpha to recognize the superior capability of his vessel and his fleet.
Some members of his senior crew expressed surprise when Yoshi ordered the ship to cross into Alpha space. They hadn’t challenged him but would eventually, and he would listen, albeit as a pretence. He would pursue his attack plan anyway. Tactical standoffs were Yoshi’s specialty. He knew his tactics were right and his ship had the stature and strength to vaporize the Earth vessel.
He also knew that as Fleet Commander he had the authority and moral high ground to pursue the Earth ship and he would not rest until this was achieved.
* * * *
The first missile struck the Aurora 5 on deck six and penetrated the blast shields defenses. The second and third disabled the stellar drive and the fourth penetrated the real of the hull and embedded itself beneath the rear hangar deck. The force of the explosions sent the Alpha ship into a half spin, before the ships stabilizers compensated and adjusted the balance polarity.
Hoskins immediately took the ship to battle stations and allowed the ships NAVCOM to bring her around so that the Sentinel vessel faced them. The Aurora weapons were deployed immediately and Blast Cannons peppered the surface of the Sentinel vessel, but without making any significant impact.
“Deploy PBA and load five teutonic torpedoes.”
“Launch jump ships for close range attack, I want those fucking Sentinel shields down. Get the Sabres to concentrate on the Sentinels Hyper drive.”
“Comm status. Where are those Alpha ships?”
“ETA, two minutes for the first ship sir, the others should be within five.”
Another huge explosion, this time on the fore deck, rocked the bridge, temporarily making the Commander lose his footing. He recovered and watched as two missiles launched and headed straight towards their target. Both reached their intended destination but neither breached the Sentinels ships shields.
“PBA on line.”
“Fire at will.”
The PBA was the Aurora 5’s most devastating weapon, a multi warhead laser that together formed an immensely powerful plasma weapon. The weapon could only be used in short bursts and with extreme caution, but would guarantee the temporary failure of the enemy vessels shields. No sooner had the weapon been deployed, it went offline, requiring recharge before further deployment.
“Battle Cruiser Pacific, to port, sir. She is deploying PBA and launching torpedoes.”
“Co-ordinate our attack priorities with the Pacific, Number One.“
“CAG, what’s our jump ship status?”
“All ships deployed and engaged.”
“Two more Alpha vessels in range,” said the Comm Officer.
“Number One, coordinate.”
“Shields are down to twenty percent, both main drives offline,” the bridge operations officer shouted. “CAG advised a dorsal attack is ineffective. Two ships lost already.”
“What about the Sabres?” asked the commander.
* * * *
The three Sabres launched first. Flight Lieutenant’s Obeya Temsouri and Carson O’Brien were the team leaders in Blue Sabre 1. The slingshot mechanism propelled the Sabre into space at high velocity. Obeya expertly brought the jump ship around and assumed pole position at the front of the three vessel ‘V’ shape formation.
Obeya was the Aurora’s Sabre lead. She was a veteran in her third full tour and she was good. She was also the current mistress of a certain Jonathan Hoskins.
This didn’t prey on her mind. She was fond of Jonathan, but she was a professional pilot first and foremost. The relationship between her and the ship’s commander was not something she broadcast. Born on Seta 9, Obeya was the product of a specialist breeding program which Earth was reluctantly involved in for twenty-five years. She was part-human, part-Dactorian, and part-Barcudian. This gave her increased strength, stamina and intelligence. She was ostensibly human, and looked human.
She was accompanied by Carson O’Brien, an Irish Titan immigrant. He was a good jump ship pilot but preferred to take control of the Sabres’ offensive capabilities when in a two crew member sortie.
The three Sabres accelerated briskly away from both the Aurora and the Sentinel vessel before tuning and assuming an attack posture. They launched their offensive at maximum thrust and swept past the Sentinel vessel from bow to port and then under and over the enemy vessel before starting the whole maneuver again. The Sabres stayed in formation and continued this close range assault while their blast cannons and short range PBAs attacked the enemy vessels shield systems from all angles. They were blasted by the Sentinel ships huge laser cannons and ATA missile systems. The ATA was the most feared weapon in the Sentinels armory from a jump ships perspective. They were accurate; launching, locking on and never letting go. Deadly because they nearly-always penetrated the jump ships’ limited shield capability.
Obeya just avoided one ATA missile when a second one locked on. She pulled the ship upwards at maximum thrust and headed straight for the Sentinel vessel, pulling up at the last minute. Luck was on her side today and the missile got caught in the Sentinel’s shield system and exploded, knocking both the Sabre and a nearby Rapier into a flat spin before both pilots recovered and Obeya pulled the ship out of danger. Unfortunately, the Sentinels laser cannon targeted the Rapier, and the damaged Rapier limped off in space, only to be hit by a further ATA missile which destroyed the Rapier and her pilot instantly.
The three Sabres returned to formation once again and continued their close range offensive. However it wasn’t long before one of the other two Sabres was in trouble, having been hit by the aftershock of an ATA explosion. She started to spin, and her pilot temporarily lost control before recovering and straightening up. She was clearly in trouble, and Obeya advised her fellow pilot to pull out of the next attack and return to the Aurora 5. The Aurora’s CAG immediately launched the reserve Sabre which quickly joined the Sabre hunting pack in attack formation.
All around them, the carnage of a space battle was evident. The size and power of the Sentinel Vessel was telling and although the jump ship pilots were doing their best, it was inevitable that some would be lost. The Sabres continued their offensive and were joined by three other Sabres from one of the other Alpha Battle Cruisers, and all six targeted the Sentinels aft shields which were beginning to show signs of weakening.
“Commander…CAG says Sentinel ships aft shields our down”
“All ships target the aft shields.”
The Sabres did their job and the Battle cruisers began to re-target their main weapons. The four Alpha Battle Cruisers and their jump ships began to get the upper hand. Hoskins was fortuna
te that the nearest ships were ships of the Line. With two more Alpha vessels on their way, Hoskins knew Yoshi would not stick around for long. He had proven his point, and showed this ship more capable than anything the Sentinels had ever sent before.
* * * *
General Yoshi was disappointed. The other Earth ships were no match for his vessel. Enough was enough. Monitors showed more Alpha vessels were on route and this fight was over. He issued the command to move out, and the huge Sentinel vessel roared into life and made good its exit.
* * * *
The humans suffered considerable damage and loss of life. Seventeen jump ships were lost in the thirty minute combat. The battle cruisers were still largely intact—except for the Aurora 5, which listed to port with only maneuvering thrusters and no operational drive. The ship’s hull was pitted with impact blisters and the bulkheads were in tatters. The Aurora 5 was a salvage vessel only.
Hoskins sat in his bridge chair and stared out into space in disbelief. How could things have changed so much in just forty-eight hours? The Fox was as good as dead.
Chapter Nine
The Weekend
Weekends off were a rarity in the final academic year. Jake, Carla and Steve took advantage of this treat to ‘let their hair down’ in the knowledge that, this morning, they could all take their time recovering from the ‘night before’.
It started when Carla returned from Titan late Friday evening, and they met up at the ‘Apple Bar’ in the central campus area. The bar was a popular student hangout which derived its name from the source of their specialist drink: cider. Much cider was consumed and following a visit to the local Chinese restaurant they went back to Carla’s apartment: Carla and Steve, very much together, and Jake accompanied by Maria Shavenosky.
Jake awoke with a start. He took a few moments to establish his bearings and to realize Maria slept soundly on the other side of the bed. This was Carla’s spare bedroom. It all came back to him, the drink, the revelry, the Chinese food. Yes, he definitely slept with Maria and it was good.
Then the room began to spin and he jumped/half-fell off the bed and headed for the bathroom.
Having emptied the contents of his stomach, he gingerly returned to the bed and his sleeping companion and lay down. Head pounding, he returned to his sleep, praying that in a few hours he would feel better.
Jake woke again at nine a.m. to find Maria already risen. He heard voices in the living area and realized Maria, Carla and Steve were all up already. He got up and headed straight for the shower. Refreshed and feeling slightly better, he dressed and headed for what smelled like the traditional post ‘student’ night breakfast, ‘fried’.
Steve patted Jake sharply across the back and whispered, “Well, well, you and Maria seem to have got it on again my friend.”
Jake grunted, suddenly embarrassed, not thinking what reception he would receive from Maria.
In the event, this was not an issue as she came to him and kissed him.
“Well, you took your time Mr. Carter,” Jake responded. They embraced briefly before sitting down to eat breakfast.
Three hours later, Jake and Steve sat outside a café in the main campus area. The sun broke through following a tropical downpour that these days was much a part of the extended British summer. The heat felt unbearable, so they elected to take a seat beneath the air-cooled parasol. Steve told Jake about Carla’s return and how all seemed okay between them. Jake doubted this, but pacified his friend by agreeing and suggesting perhaps the short time apart was a necessary evil.
Their conversation cut short as a huge passenger liner launched into the cloudless sky. It blocked the sunlight briefly as it soared overhead, climbing slowly as she waited for clearance to pass through the shield defenses. She would be accompanied by two Alpha patrol vessels, prior to her jump to stellar speed. This was yet another method of making money for Alpha as they sought to gain financial independence from Mother Earth: the volume of commercial flights had increased markedly in the last few months. The Alpha port contracted with a whole plethora of commercial entities making this port a viable commercial proposition. A political hot potato, it was clear the Alpha Admiralty moved towards a confrontation with the Earth Central Government.
Jake sipped his coffee and returned to more pressing matters. He had not really had time to establish how he felt about last night. Yes, he had feelings for Maria and there was no denying her attractiveness. She was bright, articulate with a bubbly and effervescent personality—which came to the fore at the right time rather than all the time, which would have been annoying. This was not their first encounter of this kind. Last time, there had been no morning after, and he had not spoken to Maria for some weeks after the event.
“So, how come you and Maria hooked up again then?” Steve asked.
Jake smiled and replied that he was not entirely sure, but Maria enjoyed the cider along with everyone else and maybe this was not the best way for a ‘head’ student to behave. They bumped into each other and started to chat. Jake used Steve’s disciplinary meeting as a means to get the conversation started, although Maria remained professional and didn’t comment directly. She said she had seen Jake and meant to call him in the last few months but never had the chance.
So were they together. Steve asked and Jake replied.
“I think so. I am not really sure to be honest, but we are meeting up tomorrow. I guess that must be a ‘yes’. Let’s drink up and head for the Port. The Sabre 4’s are in and I’m ready for a sneak preview.”
Chapter Ten
Back to Class
Monday morning was monthly physical time for Jake Carter. He passed, and was cleared for active duty for another month. Jake spent the time mulling over his current ‘issues’ and he left the occupational screening facility with both a clean bill of health and a clear head.
He entered the physical testing room first, and then spent thirty minutes on the various bench, muscular and stamina testing facilities while being monitored by the PT assessors. Jake was physically fit. He must be. Flying jump ships was one of the most physically demanding roles in Alpha.
The tests were relatively easy and allowed him to spend a little time thinking.
He turned his attention to Maria. She was a breath of fresh air, and their burgeoning relationship came along at exactly the right time for him. Not that he wanted a deep and meaningful relationship right now but it was physical, which was good. He enjoyed the closeness. Maria also expressed her desire for the relationship to be casual.
“It should be more than just sex,” she said, “but we are not talking ‘meet the parents,’ honey.”
Jake and Maria met up again on Sunday evening for a quiet drink, a stroll and then sex, some food and then more sex. This was good, he decided. Let’s just continue and see how it goes and, hey, you could do worse than Maria Shavenosky.
His thoughts moved onto Carla. Not that he thought about Carla in the same way, he told himself, or tried to persuade himself. Carla was a little distant since her return from Titan, but she was still close to Jake and the two of them played their regular tennis match early on Sunday morning, before breaking for brunch at about ten a.m. Carla showed disapproval of Jake’s relationship with Maria at first, but she softened her approach after Jake made it clear they were just casual.
She’s still coming onto me, he thought. Is it me, or does she really want me?
As for Carla’s relationship with Steve, she made it clear she disapproved of Steve’s recent jump ship misdemeanors and she wanted him to back off a little, as in recent weeks he came a little too full on. They seemed close enough on Friday night. Is that because of what happened on Titan?
Carla told both Jake and Steve how she found her sister, but she didn’t exactly bubble over with enthusiasm. Perhaps their first meeting for years was a little touchy. Jake decided he would not put any pressure on Carla and, ultimately, it was good if she and Steve remained close.
He then moved briefly to Joanna.
She opened a comm link with Jake early on Saturday evening. She took her first jump ship operational role and was on standby on Alpha Six (Jupiter station) to fly Rapier 6 sorties into deep space. She didn’t mention it, but given her location, she would probably be on Sentinel reconnaissance sorties. After their relationship ended, Jake and Joanna moved on and, following some early cross words and some occasional embarrassing exchanges, they both calmed down and were friends once more. The physical relationship was gone, but they were still close, having lived with each other for two years.
Ironic, she should call a few hours after Maria and I got together again, he thought. Just like last time. He decided he would contact Joanna more regularly, but it did concern him that she was so close to the potential Sentinel front line.
On Steve, he came to terms with Steve’s ridiculous actions on the jump ship, and hopefully Steve realized he was being supportive. Steve got away with his actions, not least because the Academy offered students a moratorium on prior disciplinary issues at the start of the final year. He was allowed to recommence his jump ship training and, it seemed likely, an offered sponsorship for Top Gun. The fact Steve was ‘loved up’ again, or that Carla was more receptive to him, meant he was unlikely to go off the rails again, right? The fact he walked a type rope anyway would probably help Steve stick to the line from now on. Steve was jealous with the friendship between Jake and Carla, especially after he returned from his summer-long sabbatical to find them as friendly as ever, but the events of the last few weeks cured any ill feeling. Jake decided he would stick by his friend and support him, right up to when he competed against him in the Top Gun competition.
Finally Jake turned his attention to his parents. He had not been home for over two months and, while he spoke to them regularly on the comm link, the conversations were frequently brief and a little terse. Jake missed his parents and the family dog, Barrat, a great deal, and perhaps it was time he returned home for the weekend. He decided he would speak to his parents this evening and arrange a date to return home.
